FACTORY FIRE AT SOCKBURN

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27873, 23 January 1956, Page 10

FACTORY FIRE AT SOCKBURN

Building Destroyed In Under An Hour

DAMAGE PUT AT £150,000

Driven by a fierce north-west wind, fire roared through the factory of Wholesale Refrigerators, Ltd., in Blenheim road about 10 a.m. yesterday, destroying plant, stock and buildings worth about £150,000.

The fire was the worst industrial fire in Christchurch for several years. It threatened the Watts road fire station, the Ministry of Works depot, and the British Petroleum Company’s compound nearby.

The fire began about 9.30 a.m. and razed the building in less than an hour. The building was insured. It was a new single-storey block which had recently had some 6000 ft of additions. It had been in use for only 14 months.

The building was 425 ft long and about 60ft wide. It was built of timber framing and asbestos cement roof and sides, with some weatherboarding in places. It had a concrete floor. The Christchurch Fire Brigade were called about 9.35 a.m. and began with two leads from the Main South road. Later they brought several more leads from the fire sump in front of the Ministry of Works buildings across Blenheim road

Five units of the Central Fire Brigade were powerless to stop the fire, but concentrated on preventing the spread of the flames across adjoining sections towards a block of buildings which included the new Watts road fire station. Fringed by trees, this area, if it had caught fire, could have seriously endangered the British Petroleum Company’s dump across Blenheim road. Last night the Ministry of Works put fire breaks around tne dump, and cleared away long dry grass close to the drums of petroleum products stored in the dumps. The fire spread at one stage across Blenheim road into the Ministry of Works compound and threatened thousands of pounds worth of vehicles and plant, but beaters put out the fire in time.

Roof Falls in , parting from the centre of the building, the fire spread across the grass area adjoining, and in less than 15 minutes the building was in flames m to end - The r °°f in about 10.15 a.m. and the walls collapsed soon after. Only the eastern part of the new office wing is standing , h „ bo X e ? he roar of the flames the loud explosions of torch gas cylinders shook the ground, sent debris into the air and made many spectators run for shelter. The heat prevented firemen from approaching th £fl re °n several occasions. frn^ e / re was i ed b y inflammable gas' trom dozens of gas cylinders used for ma„,!? anufac jH re ot . the refrigeration machinery. The noise of the escaping gas almost equalled the. roar of the S?®?’ Exploding asbestos cement sidings and roofing added to the noise. than the flames was the sparkling roar of shorting power connexions as the flames reached the leadin from the mains. Fanned by the wind the flames also burned several railway waggons and carriages and tram-car shells on the adjoining property of Modern Maisonettes. They were being converted into dwellings by independent owners. More than 1000 persons watched the fire, which spread over a total area of about two acres.

About 150 tons of deep frozen vegetables which were stored in a refrigeration block beside the blazing building were unharmed. Although the power was cut off by the flames it was later reconnected without loss of the frozen produce.

The managing director of Wholesale Refrigerators, Ltd.. Mr G. L Kirkpatrick, was away at Lake Coleridge at the time, and he returned about 2 p.m. He said that the blackened ruins represented about 10 years’ endeavour. He said a start would be made immediately with rebuilding on the site. Messrs T. Guy and A. Edinburgh lost about £2OO of uninsured tools, which they had been using in finishing the fitting of the front part of the new building.

Mr H. C. Robinson, the Deputy Fire Chief, said he wished to thank the many local helpers, as well as personnel from the R.N.Z.A.F. Station. Wigram, for assisting the firemen. He said that they had given valuabfc? help m stopping the spread of the fire. One of the helpers, Mr E. Brown, of Sockburn, ran into the flaming area to pull out a gas torch cylinder which was endangering the firefighters. When the wind changed to a strong southerly last evening the owners of houses on the west side of the site were fearful that the smouldering ruins might endanger their homes. A watch is being kept throughout the night. Clearing of the site will begin today.